inchoate

[ in-koh-it, -eyt or, esp. British, in-koh-eyt ]
/ ɪnˈkoʊ ɪt, -eɪt or, esp. British, ˈɪn koʊˌeɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR inchoate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
just begun; incipient.
not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.

Origin of inchoate

1525–35; < Latin inchoātus, variant of incohātus, past participle of incohāre “to begin, start work on,” perhaps equivalent to in- in-2 + coh(um) “hollow of a yoke into which the pole is fitted” + -ātus -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM inchoate

in·cho·ate·ly, adverb in·cho·ate·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH inchoate

inchoate innate

Words nearby inchoate

inch of mercury, inch plant, inch-pound, incher, inchmeal, inchoate, inchoation, inchoative, inchon, inchworm, incidence

Words related to inchoate

amorphous, elementary, embryonic, formless, immature, imperfect, incipient, preliminary, rudimentary, shapeless, unfinished, unformed, inceptive, unshaped, nascent

Example sentences from the Web for inchoate

British Dictionary definitions for inchoate

inchoate

adjective (ɪnˈkəʊeɪt, -ˈkəʊɪt)

just beginning; incipient
undeveloped; immature; rudimentary
(of a legal document, promissory note, etc) in an uncompleted state; not yet made specific or valid

verb (ɪnˈkəʊeɪt) (tr)

to begin

Derived forms of inchoate

inchoately, adverb inchoateness, noun inchoation, noun inchoative (ɪnˈkəʊətɪv), adjective

Word Origin for inchoate

C16: from Latin incohāre to make a beginning, literally: to hitch up, from in- ² + cohum yokestrap